These satellites will be combined with Dauria's DX1 spacecraft and eight Perseus-O imaging satellites to form the Perseus space monitoring and remote sensing constellation. The maritime segment of the Perseus constellation will track and monitor vessels in open seas and navigable waterways in the United States, Canada, Northern Europe and Russia.

The two Perseus-M maritime-surveillance satellites were launched on June 19th aboard a Dnepr rocket. Canopus Systems, a Mountain View, California, based affiliate of Dauria, developed these satellites—they feature a proprietary microsatellite platform and are equipped with commercially oriented experimental Automatic Identification System (AIS) payloads.

The next segment of the constellation involves launching a DX1 small satellite, which is awaiting launch aboard a Soyuz-2.1b carrier rocket from Baikonur in early July. The Perseus constellation will be the first commercial space monitoring and remote sensing satellite constellation with a Russian private component. The DX1 platform permits future utilization of the satellite for Earth remote sensing and various scientific purposes. Perseus-M satellites will also perform testing of the satellite platform for Perseus-O medium resolution optical satellites that are scheduled for launch in 2015.

"The launch of the Perseus-M satellites marks a significant achievement for Dauria," says Mike Kokorich, founder and president at Dauria Aerospace. "Once established, the maritime segment of the constellation will provide valuable vessel traffic information to a range of users from captains and ship-owners to coast guard and search and rescue services in the Northern Hemisphere. We are confident in the commercial success of the constellation. Prior to DX1 launch, we reached an agreement with the Russian Ministry of Transportation for the development of AIS services. At this time, Russia does not maintain any space assets with AIS capabilities and can only monitor maritime traffic less than about 43 miles from its shoreline. We expect this partnership to lead to agreements with multiple companies based in North America and Europe."